Beltane Fire Festival

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Beltane Fire Festival returns on 30th April 2025. Join us for an immersive experience of revelry as we light the fires on Calton Hill!

About Beltane Fire Festival

Listed Under Nights Out Events / Family and Kids Events

Are you ready to turn the wheel and bring in the summer of 2025? It’s time for Beltane! Join us in celebration of the warmer seasons with our traditional Celtic retelling, an immersive experience of revelry as we light the fires on Calton Hill on Wednesday 30th April!

Beltane is a living, breathing re-interpretation and modernisation of an ancient Iron Age Celtic ritual which is over three thousand years old. Established in Edinburgh, the Beltane Fire Society is a community which has brought people together for the largest Celtic festival of its kind since 1988!

This year, Beltane is taking rewilding to new heights. It’s not just about restoring ecosystems; it’s about reviving our cultural and spiritual connection to the earth. What does it mean to truly “rewild” our community? From costumes crafted with foraged materials to the planting of seeds that represent growth and renewal, every part of this year’s festival is a call to action—to reimagine our place in the world and our role in the land's story.

Throughout the festival, you’ll experience the spirit of rewilding through a seed exchange series—a chance to connect with the earth and with one another in a way that goes beyond the physical. And on the night itself, a symbolic seed exchange led by the May Queen will invite everyone to come together, share, and cultivate something magical.

As we retell the traditional stories of The May Queen, and The Death and Rebirth of The Green Man, you’ll also come across a whole assortment of larger-than-life characters, fire-play, acrobatics, drummers, dancers, musicians, and much more.
Join us as we celebrate life’s renewal with fire, story, and rewilding. Let’s ignite the wild within and reawaken our connection to the land, the fire, and each other. All are welcome!

Artwork by Becky Salter (@wilder.ways.art.illustration) for Beltane Fire Society

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